Brian sat back in his seat on the airplane and did his damnedest to concentrate on the task at hand. He knew he needed to go over his pitch to Central Airways execs. The account was one of Kinnetik's most profitable and the three year contract that was up for renewal was one he had no desire to lose. The airline was a charter service and often carried some big name clients. Brian loved doing business with them. The problem was that he still hadn't heard a word from Justin and it was beginning to piss him off. He never thought of himself as a brooding man, but he was definitely brooding over Justin's lack of communication. Brian knew the kid had to be alright or he would have heard something from Dan for certain. The thought entered Brian's head that maybe he had misinterpreted Justin's feelings for him, although it didn't make sense...not after some of the things they had said to each other. Brian knew that great sex didn't prove anything, but he had certainly felt there was a bit more than sex between them. It had come as a surprise to Brian, but there it was...he had felt something special with the writer. Had he fooled himself into thinking it was mutual?

All these thoughts raced through Brian's head as the plane he was taking to Philly taxied down the runway. In a matter of minutes the plane was airborne. Brian had no way of knowing that the object of his frustration was flying those same blue skies at the exact same time. Justin landed in Pittsburgh just minutes before Brian touched down in Philly. Justin had spent the entire time in the air asking himself how he should handle his confrontation with Brian. He debated as to whether he should give the man a heads up and call before just showing up on his doorstep. He rejected the idea. He had thought he knew Brian really well, even in the short time they had been together, but now he wasn't so certain. He decided that there was always the chance that Brian would avoid him if he gave him a warning he was coming. He couldn't take the chance. He simply HAD to know what had happened between them. He had left Brian's hotel room just two days ago convinced that they had some kind of a future together and now he had no idea where he stood. He had to know, one way or the other, whether he had been a fool in love alone. 

He had no intention of ever locking himself away from the world again. If nothing else he owed Brian for giving him that. The man had literally awakened him from a deep sleep and given him a purpose in life. He had every intention of using his talents to achieve something in this world and he was not going to do it alone. Being alone all the time sucked. He wanted desperately for it to be Brian that he shared his life and accomplishments with, but if that was not to be then he would keep himself open to a future with someone else. Justin knew in his heart that the abusive cruelty of his father growing up had been the catalyst to keeping his spirit locked up tight, but that spirit was freed by Brian and Justin would never let it be locked away again....not even by Brian himself. 

Justin gathered the small carry on bag he brought with him and moved off quickly in search of a taxi stand. He had never gotten around to getting Brian's home address but he knew the address for his business office. Justin decided it was time to see Kinnetik, Inc. for himself. He didn't even want to waste time checking into a hotel room. He gave the driver the address for Kinnetik and kept his fingers crossed that Brian would already be at work. All the way over from the airport to the office Justin rehearsed what he would say to Brian when he saw him. He wasn't sure if he would have the strength to get any of it out, but he was damned sure that he wasn't going to let the man off the hook for deserting him without even the courtesy of a 'fuck you and good bye'. His frustration with Brian built slowly until he was totally on edge by the time the cab pulled up in front of Brian's building.

Justin got out and watched his hand shake slightly as he handed over the fare and tip to the driver. He was more nervous than he cared to admit. He waited until the driver pulled away. Justin stepped back and surveyed the building. It was a nondescript one-storey structure all in a grayish toned brick, except for one side of the building that had thick opaque glass bricks from roof to ground that seemed about twenty feet in length and wrapped around to the side of the building. There were no windows which made the glass brick design even more interesting. It was obvious that the owner didn't want people looking in or those inside looking out. Justin was unaware that the office had been built as a bath house, thus the desire for privacy. If he had he would have admired the irony of Brian choosing such a place for his business. 

Justin finally decided he had stalled long enough. He squared his shoulders and marched himself over to the glass door that led into a foyer. He stepped inside. Justin could immediately hear the hustle and bustle of dozens of busy folks going about their busy day. He stepped forward so that a large plant near the front door no longer blocked his view. He could see lots of open cubicles that each had one or two people working away inside them. Heads were bent over computers and large tables with what looked like big placards set up on them. Some people were on phones chattering away animatedly. There were a couple of rooms that had closed doors to them off to one side but for the most part it looked like Brian's company liked the open door policy. Justin finally spotted a large circular desk not far from the closed offices and recognized it as the reception desk. 

Justin made his way over to the front of the desk. A lovely young lady with bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair looked up as he cleared his throat to get her attention. She had been wrapped up in a conversation on the phone with someone named Dexter. By the huge grin on her face and the giggly way she was talking to him, Justin got the impression that it wasn't about business. Brian certainly had a relaxed atmosphere in his company. Somehow Justin liked that idea. The young lady looked up and smiled at the cute stranger. She quickly asked Dex to hold on and covered the mouthpiece of her phone.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Yes, I'm here to see Mr. Kinney...Brian Kinney," Justin answered, trying to keep his voice from quivering in his nervousness.

"I'm sorry, do you have an appointment, Mr.......?"

"It's Taylor...Justin Taylor, and no I don't have an appointment but I'm sure Mr. Kinney will see me," Justin responded. He hurried on, "I'm a client of Mr. Kinney's from New York City. I thought I'd look him up while I was in town. Is he in, by any chance?"

Before the receptionist could respond, they both heard a man's voice directly behind Justin.

"That's okay Jackie, I'll get this. You can go back to your 'business' call. Oh, and tell Dex I said hi."

Jackie blushed from ear to ear and immediately started talking to Dexter again. Justin had turned around and come face to face with a slender dark haired man who wasn't much bigger than him. He was a pleasant looking fellow with a serious but kind face. He immediately stuck out his hand. Justin reached out and shook it. The handshake was firm and friendly.

"Hello. My name is Ted Schmidt. I'm Mr. Kinney's business manager. I couldn't help overhearing you. You say you are a client of Brian's from the Big Apple? I know he just returned from there. I know all of Brian's clients. I don't believe I remember hearing your name before."

"Well actually my boss is his client...Dan Smithers of Smithers Publishing."

"Oh yes, of course. Brian has spoken very highly of the company. He even took a personal interest in the company, which he doesn't do that often. We kind of missed him here since he ended up spending so much time in your fair city...a lot more than he originally planned." Ted let out a short laugh. "I know the big city has some special charms but I've never seen him more devoted to a client. I figured that he was just enjoying the perks of being in one of the most exciting cities of the world." 

Ted couldn't help noticing a slight flushed look rising on the adorably cute blond's face. He wondered briefly if Brian had anything to do with that.

"So how do you know Brian?" Ted couldn't help asking.

"Uhhh like I said, he is working on the advertising for Dan's business and I was one of the writers that he was helping to promote. He sort of...well, ahhh, sort of took me under his wing. You see, I've never tried promoting myself before and.....uhhhh, I...uhhhh, well I was uncomfortable with it. Brian...I mean Mr. Kinney worked with me to make me more comfortable putting myself out there for the publishing house."

Ted was beginning to get the picture, or at least he thought he was. He was surprised. This young man was nothing like Brian's usual preferences. He always seemed to go for the taller, darker, older guys. This kid...well he was certainly over twenty one, but not by much, and he didn't seem very self assured...something else Brian usually liked in his men. Ted's curiosity was truly piqued, but first things first. 

"Well Justin, I'm sorry to say that you've just missed Brian. He left a few hours ago for Philadelphia. I'm not really sure when to expect him back. I should hear from him sometime later today. I can certainly tell him you came by."

"No! No! I ahhhh...well I kind of wanted to surprise him. I'm in town for a short visit and I just wanted to thank him for all his help. I mean, I knew he lived here and since I was here anyway I thought I'd just drop by to say hi." 

Justin paused to think and weigh his options. He quickly made a decision.

"I'll tell you what, Mr. Schmidt, why don't I just call back later and see if you know when he is coming back to town. I may have to leave before he does but I'd still like to say hi if I can get the chance. But I'd also like to keep it a surprise so could you please do me a favor and not mention that I was here? It's not that big a deal, but I don't want to bother the man if he's really busy."

For some reason Ted had the impression that this visit was a big deal, at least to the young man, but he didn't want to press for more answers. The kid looked like he was ready to jump out of his skin as it was. So Ted quickly agreed to say nothing to Brian when he heard from him. He promised to let the young man know what was going on if Justin called him back later in the day. Justin shook Ted's hand again and left the office the way he had come in. As Justin got out onto the sidewalk he felt a terrible letdown. He hadn't realized until just then how badly he wanted to see Brian and confront the man about their situation. He was leaving empty handed and, even worse, empty hearted. He quickly called for a cab and gave the name of a hotel he had looked up on the internet. He would check in and gather his thoughts. Maybe he could still find out what was going on before he went back to New York City with his tail between his legs. 

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Brian left the airport and went straight to his meeting with Central Air. The meeting lasted for several long hours but it went much better than Brian had expected it to. By the time he had left the building Brian had a big fat contract in his hands and an overwhelming urge to celebrate. Normally that would have meant an instant visit to the hottest gay dance club in whatever town he was in but for some reason he didn't have the urge to go dancing. The thought crossed his mind that there wasn't any real good reason for him to stay in Philly or even to go back to the Pitts now. He could certainly take a plane on to New York City instead. But he began having second thoughts about it. It didn't look like Justin missed him that much. Maybe, he thought himself, he should leave well enough alone. Maybe Justin had gotten all he needed from Brian. 

Brian felt uneasy. He should be more than happy to move on. He had had a really good time with the young writer. That should be more than enough. He certainly didn't want any serious relationship anyway....did he? The question popped into his head without warning. Why in hell was he even asking himself that question? Of course he didn't want a serious relationship. He had no intention of getting serious with anyone. He never had. But then, why was the thought of never seeing Justin again so uncomfortable....or one might even say, painful?

"Shit!" Brian muttered to himself. "What the hell have you done to me, Justin Taylor?"

With that, Brian decided he needed answers. He decided he would go back to New York and face Justin...and maybe even face himself. He needed to know. He didn't like not being in control of his own life.... No, not one bit!! Brian placed a quick call to his office. He needed to let Ted know that he was going to be holding down the fort again while the boss was out of town. Good old Ted...Brian reminded himself to give the man a big raise at the end of the year. His receptionist answered on the second ring. 

"Hey Mr. K.," Jackie answered cheerfully. Brian could picture the girls sunny face.

"Jackie, I need to speak with Ted."

"Yes sir. I'll ring his office....oh, and Mr. K., you had a visitor today. He said he was a client of yours but he didn't have an appointment."

Brian was puzzled. He wasn't expecting any clients. If some damned emergency was coming up again that would keep him from going to New York, he was going to be really pissed.

"Did you get the name of the client, Jackie,"

"Yes sir," declared the receptionist who prided herself on her memory skills. "He said his name was Justin Taylor."

"Justin?!" Brian couldn't believe it. What was Justin doing in Pittsburgh? "Did he say what he wanted?"

"No sir, but he talked to Mr. Schmidt."

"Get me Ted, right now!" Brian almost shouted.

Poor Jackie almost jumped out of her seat. She had never heard her boss so vehement. She quickly clicked into Mr. Schmidt's office phone. Ted answered quickly. 

"The boss is on line one and he's a little agitated," she told Ted quickly, not wanting to keep the boss waiting.

Ted clicked over to line one. "Hey Brian, what gives? Is something the matter? Jackie's all flustered. Did you have trouble with Central Air?"

"No," Brian declared, "but I want to hear more about this visit from Justin."

"What? What visit?"

"Jackie said I had a visitor named Justin Taylor. She told me you talked to him."

Ted knew better than to try and bull shit Brian. The man had a built in lie detector in his brain...besides the cat was already out of the bag. He had not been the one to rat the young man out. He decided he'd better come clean.

"Oh, that Justin. Yeah, he said he was one of the writers for our new client, Smithers Publishing. He said he was only going to be in town for a short time but he was hoping to connect with you. Something about thanking you for all your help?"

"Did he say when he'd come back?" 

Ted had never heard that tone in Brian's voice before. It was almost desperate. What the hell was going on, he wondered.

"No. He just said he'd call again later and see if you were coming back to town."

"Ted, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I want you to make sure that he knows I'm coming back and that I'll be in my office until late this evening. You got that? I should be back before five. My plane leaves in an hour. You tell him exactly what I said, but don't tell him that I know he's here. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"I'll tell you more about the airlines when I see you, but don't forget to tell Justin exactly what I said. Oh, and Ted...tell Jackie to keep her big mouth shut and not mention to Justin that she talked to me if she speaks to him. Understand?"

"Yes sir!" 

The men hung up. Ted had never seen nor heard such a strange reaction from Brian. He didn't know what was up but whatever it was this young writer was at the center of it. He could hardly wait for Brian to get back. Hopefully he was going to have an interesting story to tell the gang tonight at Woody's.

To be continued...........................